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I was happy not to take a position and was glad to meet Hidetoshi (Tanaka) outside the meeting – and have just met him again outside here (the sumo arena in Sakai) and he said “Thank you, Ireland.”
There is a place and a way of doing things. Maybe the Japanese could have addressed it better but maybe the Europeans should think about not just, look, a cultural sport is not just about financial gain, it’s about furthering the cultural ethos of a sport that is rooted in tradition. I’m delighted that Japan has a strong hold on sumo.
MB: Do you think that sumo would make a good Olympic sport?
CC: Absolutely, without a doubt. Absolutely, not a question.
(Next two questions asked knowing Colin to have lectured on sport to degree level)
MB: Under the ISF statutes a certain number of executive posts are limited to Japanese nationals only ……..
CC: I did notice that, I must say.
MB: Any reaction?
CC: I think a dilution of control is a good thing but, and this is the rider to that, on condition that those put on the board respect the ethos of the Japanese. If the ESU countries on the board are not respecting the Japanese I think there is something wrong. You don’t get on the board
MB: Women are not allowed on the professional dohyo. Were that not the case you could possibly be fighting at the main sumo stadium in Tokyo with up to 11,000 watching. Any thoughts?
CC: I didn’t know that. So, women can’t stand on the professional dohyo?
MB: Correct.
CC: Well to answer that question will put me at odds with what I said before which is to respect Japanese tradition, so you have me in a little box there but the answer is that Japanese culture needs to be respected but, at the same time, there needs to be some loosening of that grip. There needs to be some kind of give and take. For any sport to develop there needs to be a little bit of give and take. I can’t fathom that. (no women on the professional dohyo)
I mean, we’re in the modern age, women play Gaelic football, women play hurling. I don’t see why on earth women can’t perform on the professional dohyo. I can’t get my head around that. I have lectured on sports for years to degree level and I can’t imagine myself teaching students that half the class can never do it but for half that it’s alright.
MB: Are you going to Switzerland next year?
CC: Definitely. I am sitting here just after the heat of the moment, fight, battle over - having survived. Not done as well as I’d have liked but I have to go back and get my fights in and prepare more correctly.
MB: Can you see yourself coming back to Japan?
CC: Absolutely. The odd thing is, for about ten / fifteen years I’ve
MB: Do you see a future for sumo in Ireland?
CC: Oh yes. I first put on my mawashi in May in Austria and I was laughed at back in the Irish media, but it takes time. Hopefully now they won’t (laugh) and people will take up sumo when we get back. I would like to think that, in Switzerland next year, you will be shocked and we’ll have a full Irish team – ladies, men – all weight classes, but I might add that after Austria that was also my intention! Put it this way: I can only do my part – I can’t pull people by the hair.
MB: Were you young enough (CC is 35) and of the right nationality (given present woes for non-Japanese wanting to get into Ozumo), would you like to give the professional game a go?
CC: Undoubtedly – today more so than ever. I think size will always be against me but others are so big so….. Would I want to do this? I’d love to do this. You actually get drawn in accidentally. Who wouldn’t do it? But at the same time it is more of an honour fighting for Ireland than anything else?
(MB’s note: The above text has been left in its natural state as far as was possible – certain colloquialisms have been amended and ‘missing’ terms added to make it easier for SFM’s international readership).
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